I like that it's water resistant and that I can wear it swimming or in the shower. It is safe down to 10 meters or around 30 feet. I like that the wristband is made of TPU rubber, which according to Wikipedia is a type of rubber used in automotive instrument panels, caster wheels, power tools, sporting goods, medical devices, drive belts, footwear, inflatable rafts, and a variety of extruded film, sheet and profile applications. I think it should hold up for a very long time. I like that the display on the band gives me a rough idea by tapping on it of my progress throughout the day. I can also check my progress on my iPhone 4S and see number of steps so far, calories burned, how many hours of sleep I got last night and how often I woke up or was restless. So far it seems very accurate. I can also track the foods I've eaten and the calories, my weight goals and weight lost, check on the weekly number of steps friend's with Fitbits have taken and compare them with my own.
I like that I can wear it 24/7 and only have to take it off to charge it once every 7 days. It takes about 3 hours to charge with a USB thingie that comes with it. I use a wall adapter to charge it but could also use a USB port on my desktop or laptop computer. I've lost too many pedometers in the past by dropping them out of my pockets or forgetting about them and sending them through the washing machine, so the wristband seems like a much better option for me. I also like that I can connect wirelessly with my smartphone and with the little dongle included that goes into my desktop or laptop, can connect with those wirelessly as well. Software downloads for all of these are free. I'm also able to connect on my first gen Kindle HD 8.9 although I can't see where it's shown as a supported device so far. But it works with the Android fitbit software in the app store.
The step measurements seem reasonably accurate. Waving my hand slowly won't register as a step. Waving wildly will. Driving in the car won't register but reaching around quickly in the car sometimes will. Typing on the computer or Kindle won't register. I've heard that swimming doesn't register either but you can input the time and activity on your phone or tablet. When I first got the flex I started the iPhone app and watched my steps register on my screen as I walked around the house. That, and watching my steps on the treadmill have shown it to be pretty accurate for me, although not perfect. I think that all pedometers have some inaccuracies. What I'm looking for is a comparative trend where I can tell how much exercise I'm getting. The accuracy is good enough for me.
So I wake up in the morning, tap the wristband quickly a few times to tell it I'm awake. Then if I tap it twice I see one tiny blinking light, telling me I'm working on my first 2,000 steps. Later, when I've hit that mark and tap to check again, I'll see one solid light and the second one blinking. There are 5 lights total and each represents 2,000 steps (or 20% of my goal. I could set it up differently on my computer, using a different number of steps as my daily goal if I wanted to.) So I can see my approximate progress any time during the day. When I hit my goal of 10,000 steps the band vibrates and all the lights flash. That means you done good!
I can set up to 8 silent vibrating alarms on this fltbit. I have one to wake me up on weekdays (you can specify which days) and one at 8:00 each night to remind me stop eating for the day. The vibration gets my attention and is effective at waking me up. I set the alarms on my computer or phone.
At night when I'm in bed and ready to go to sleep I tap the wristband rapidly a few times, it vibrates briefly, and goes into the sleep mode until I wake it again in the morning.
So am I happy that I purchased the Fitbits for myself and my family members? Yes I am. It motivates me to walk or run more. I can connect to other friends and family with Fitbits to see everyone's weekly step progress but what really motivates me is just competing against myself. I'll find myself parking in the back of the parking lots at stores to log those extra steps or walking around the store longer because it's a good way to add even more. When I haven't reached my goal at night, I'll sometimes walk around the house several times just to hit a number. Now that can't be all bad, can it?
Update 1/12/14 - I'll keep updating this review with comments and observations as I use this device. I noticed that walking at a rapid pace is counted as "active minutes". Someone on a message board suggested adding a touch of lotion to the clasp if you're having trouble getting it to clasp when it's new.
Update 1/16/14 - A full charge is lasting just a bit over 7 days. It takes about 3 hours to recharge it fully.
Update 1/21/14 - Some people have complained about this band coming undone and losing it. I haven't had any problems with it at all, even when pulling tight coat and shirt sleeves over it, brushing my arm against things or the dog pulling on it once or twice. (I'm sure the dog could have pulled it off if I didn't stop him.) The other day I had the dog's leash wrapped around the wrist with the Fitbit and even with the dog pulling against the leash the fitbit stayed on. We walked this way a couple of miles before I noticed it and unwrapped the leash from my wrist. But even with all that agitation my fitbit stayed put. It has stayed on through enough that I'm not very concerned about losing it. I've only taken it off to charge it. I have the band snug enough that I can only put one finger beneath the band but I can move it a couple of inches back and forth on my wrist.
Update 7/3/14 - A new update that works with iPhones that use the Fitbit app was released a few days ago. I've used it with my iPhone 4S and really like the new upgrade. It adds a whole new dimension to my Fitbit app. With the upgrade, I just click on the exercise icon on the dashboard which takes me to a new screen showing the days of the week that I've exercised. (Meaning a walk, run or hike, something in addition to the regular walking in my daily activities.) This screen shows exercise frequency by day of the week, it puts a check on the days that you do some planned exercise. If I click the little stopwatch in the upper right-hand corner, it takes me to a screen where I can click Walk, Run, or Hike. I go back and can then click Cues which takes me to another screen where I can select whether or not I want to hear spoken cues. I can also tell it which cues I want including: Distance, Time, Average Pace, Split Pace, and Calories Burned. Then I go back again an can select the frequency of the cues from every .5 miles to every 5 miles. Or, I can make the cues time based ranging from every 2 minutes, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes. I can also select the volume of the cues. (Medium was perfect for me.) Then, back again to select a playlist from my iPhone's loaded tunes. Last, I allowed location services for Fitbit in my phone settings and I was ready to go. Now I see a big red circle with a Start arrow on the screen over a GPS map showing my location. I pop in my earphones, click Start and my music starts playing.
As I walk, I can see a screen showing how far I've walked, rate per mile, time elapsed. Every half mile a voice interrupts my music telling me how far I've gone and all the other things I've specified in Cues that I wanted to know. Then it goes back to playing my music until it's time for my next designated Cue. How cool is that? It works seamlessly. At the end of my walk I tell it I'm finished (or I could also pause it if I stop to talk to a neighbor or something). When I'm finished (or even during the walk or run) I can see a little red line showing my route on the map. The steps from my walk are added to my steps count, just as they always are. I love these new features. They add a lot to the Fitbit experience.
For those of you who track calories and foods eaten in the Fitbit app, the update now includes a bar code scanner. So far, the things I've scanned have been in their database. If you don't see the bar code symbol in the upper right-hand corner of the Log Food screen, log out of the Fitbit app and then log back in and it should be there.
Update 11/28/14 - If something happened to ithis Fitbit today, what would I replace it with? Another one just like it. If one of the new Fitbit models was interchangeable with it on a daily basis I might get one of those too, just because I like new technology. But this one would be my main fitness band. I would like having a watch built in, but then it would look kind of silly wearing a conventional watch on the other arm. And I have a lot of nice watches.
Update 12/12/14 - I just noticed today that the Fitbit Flex is the #1 Best Seller on Amazon this holiday season. It does seem like when I see people wearing fitness bracelets, this is the one they're most often wearing. A lot of the competitors have lowered prices significantly on their devices which is probably the best indicator of all. It's nice to know that I'm not the only Fitbit fan after wearing it for nearly a year. :)
Update 12/26/14 - My Fitbit looks all new for the holidays. This replacement bracelet took over 20 days to arrive but for about $2 it was worth the wait.1pc Small S Black with White Dots Spots Replacement Band With Clasp for Fitbit FLEX Only /No tracker/ Wireless Activity Bracelet Sport Wristband Fit Bit Flex Bracelet Sport Arm Band Armband A couple people have asked me how the bands hold up over time. I have to tell them that I don't know since I'm wearing different colored ones almost every day. They don't have much of a chance to show wear.
After almost a year of wearing these 24/7, none of us have had one come off accidentally. Even the cheap knock-off bands seem sturdy and reliable like the original. And I'm not a very careful person about pulling tight sleeves over it or draping grocery bag handles over my arm.
I have the steps across our back patio counted out by counting them myself. It is 60 steps back and forth once. (Yeah, I know, way too anal.) Oftentimes when I haven't hit my 10,000 steps for the day, I'll go out and walk back and forth with my iPad on the patio table to check my progress. I know from doing this that the Fitbit step count is dead-on accurate for counting steps when walking. Dancing will add steps which I think is fair since it's at least as good as walking for exercise.
Update 1/30/15 - I can't believe I've had my Fitbit Flex for over a year already. I'm still wearing it 24/7 as a great motivator to keep moving. I've had several people email me with questions about the way it counts steps so I thought I'd share this with you. I tested another fitness band recently, wearing it on the same arm as the Fitbit. The other band recorded a lot more steps than the Fitbit. I've "manually" counted steps while walking around different areas around my house and compared them to the Fitbit and found them to be exactly the same. But I never did it for more than about 100 steps. Now I was curious because the readings on the two bands were so different. So I went for a walk and counted out 1,000 steps as I took them, counting in my head. (Mumbling under my breath, actually.) Before I started, I noted the starting number of steps on my iPhone for both bands using the apps for each. At the end, I checked the number of steps for both bands. The Fitbit recorded 1004 steps. The other band recorded 1,217. Only 4 extra steps on the Fitbit is pretty impressive and is close enough for me. I'm contacting the manufacturer of the other band to see why it's so far off.
Several people didn't realize that you can adjust the stride for the Fitbit. Just log into the dashboard in your Fitbit app, click on the little gear thingy in the upper right hand corner and select "Settings". There's a field there for Stride Length and Running Stride Length. You can manually enter your personal stride length. If you leave these blank, the app will estimate the values based on your height and whether you are a man or woman. Click the "Update Profile" button to save your changes. Remember to sync to update your tracker with the new stride measurements. I didn't even realize I could do this until several months after I had my Fitbit. I guess it must have estimated correctly in my case because when I put it in manually I didn't notice a difference.
Update 4/30/15 - Fitbit has an update that now allows you to track multiple Fitbit devices on your Fitbit app. I haven't tried this, but from what I understand this will allow you to go back and forth between other models and once registered it will recognize them automatically. It's tempting to try the Fitbit Charge or the Surge that can measure heart rate or pulse or have caller ID. They're bulkier than I would like to wear on an all-the-time basis, but would be nice for workouts. And new technology is always fun. The Flex is still my first love and I like the switchable bands, but I'll look at the new models now that it isn't an either/or decision. Here are their instructions for adding another Fitbit:
Update your Fitbit app (if you havent already)
Set Up a New Fitbit Device from the Account tab in the Fitbit mobile app or Fitbit Connect
Finish the setup instructions, and start swapping well take care of the rest!
Update 5/7/15 - Has everyone seen the new Fitbit commercial? I usually fast forward through TV commercials on the DVR, but this one I recorded and kept until I could find it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0qVi_nF6y8 This makes me smile every time I watch it.
Update 6/6/15 - several people have asked about water resistance in comments and emails, so with summer here I will add yet another update. In one place on their website they recommended against swimming with it and taking it off when showering because while water won't hurt the tracker "wearing it 24/7 does not give your skin a chance to breathe".
This is from their technical specs which can be found here: http://www.fitbit.com/flex/specs
"WATER RESISTANT
Device is water resistant, and can be submerged up to 10 meters."
10 meters is 30 feet. So I guess it depends on where you look on their site. When I purchased mine almost a year and a half ago the 10 meter thing was prominent on their website. And as you can see from their website it's still in their specs. I always shower with mine, I never dry it off afterward except the top when I'm drying my arms. I don't swim often but when I do, I leave it on. If I were going to spend a lot of time swimming on a regular basis I might take it off since it doesn't track swimming anyway. But for splashing around in a pool occasionally, I don't worry about it.
My skin is somewhat sensitive to watch bands and I'm allergic to some metals and other materials. I couldn't be much LESS careful about the Fitbit and have never had a problem with the band and my skin. The underside is often damp from getting wet in the shower even half an hour later and it hasn't bothered my wrist. Being able to wear this 24/7 was a major selling point for me and it has worked just fine since January 2014.
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband. This slim, stylish device is with you all the time. During the day, it tracks steps, distance, and calories burned.
Amazon.com: Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep ...
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband. This slim, stylish device is with you all the time. During the day, it tracks steps, distance, and calories burned.
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity Tracker and Sleep Wristband ...
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband. Never stop moving with Fitbit Flex. Wear this slim, stylish device all the time and get the motivation you need to
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, Black ...
Monitor your fitness and health with the Fitbit Flex Wristband. Track your sleep and activity as well as accurately measuring your progress using the Fitbit app for
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband
Wireless activity + sleep wristband. removable tracker your way with Flex accessories from Fitbit and Tory Burch. Removable Fitbit Flex tracker
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep ... - Amazon.ca
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband. Never stop moving with Fitbit Flex. Wear this slim, stylish device all the time and get the motivation you need to
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity Tracker and Sleep Wristband ...
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity Tracker and Sleep Wristband (Black): Amazon.in: Electronics Amazon. Electronics. Go. Shop by Department. Hello. Sign in Your Orders Cart
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband: Amazon.co ...
FITBIT FLEX BLACK Model Fitbit Flex Track steps distance calories burned and sleep Flex automaticall Product Information Expand General Information Units 1 Brand Flex
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep ... - Amazon.ca
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, Black: Amazon.ca: Health & Personal Care Amazon.ca Try Prime Health & Personal Care. Go. Shop by Department. Hello
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Fitbit Flex Wireless ...
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, Slate at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews